Chapter 177: Safe? Zone (6)

Chapter 177: Safe? Zone (6)

The
night before.

Somewhere
in the back alleys of the 15th floor, Collie shouted loudly, veins
bulging on her forehead.

“It’s
all because of that bastard kid and that f*ing
whemonger!”

Even
now, alive by a miracle of miracles, she could not forget the memory
of that day.

It
was a disaster that struck while she was doing her usual
work—capturing men to rape, enslave, and sell.

A
lactating female and a man with a thick, monstrous body.

Because
of those two bastards, they lost two prime male slave candidates that
the party had painstakingly worked to capture. Furthermore…

“Even
Perkins lost, and the old hag too⋯”

Even
the strongest of the clan’s warriors had fallen.

Bio,
the leader of the outlaw clan Back
Alley Enforcers,
furrowed her brows as she listened to Collie’s report.

“Those
bastards. Were they strong?”

“⋯From
what I saw, they were at least on the level
of skilled intermediate explorers. Especially that man—he even
pushed Perkins into a quick defeat.”

“Click.”

Bio
clicked her tongue and held her throbbing head.

Lately,
nothing was going right.

More
specifically, ever since that damn Explorer Union Master Idelbert set
up shop on the 15th floor, the back alleys that had been peaceful
were being ruined one by one.

Those
who crossed the line, dealing drugs and other dangerous goods, were
the first to lose their heads.

Places
with unavoidable demand, like illegal artifact markets, brothels, and
slave trades, were half-destroyed.

The
Back Alley Enforcers
also suffered immense damage during that process and were now putting
everything into recovery, but⋯
it wasn’t easy.

They
had overextended to revitalize their main business, slave trading,
and the consequences had hit them full force.

The
clan’s situation was spiraling into the worst-case scenario and the
wrinkles on Bio’s forehead deepened.

“And
you’re saying they all died?”

“Yes,
yes. I escaped amidst the chaos and didn’t see much, but most of
them were eaten by the sandworm.”

“Phew⋯”

Even
their targets for revenge had mostly been eaten. A frustratingly
ambiguous situation.

As
Bio sighed deeply,

“Ughyak!”

“Kyah!”

“Wh-where
is Mr. Balkan? What is this place?! It’s so creepy!”

A
familiar voice fell from the air.

It
was the Balkan party and Belle.

Collie
pointed at the cow beastwoman Jubeel, who was staring blankly around.

“T-That
woman! That woman and her group, Bio!”

“Huh?”

“Oh?
You’re that⋯”

Jubeel’s
eyes darted around as she quickly grasped the situation.

‘A
random idiot, a woman who looks like the boss of this random idiot,
and⋯
a bunch of small fry scattered around.’

Their
abilities seemed evenly matched.

If
they fought, it might be possible to hold their own, but this was
clearly enemy territory.

There
were too many uncertainties.

They
were like a hero’s party dropped into a demon king’s castle,
trying to return safely to the village.

She
had a rough idea of what to do.

She
didn’t know where Balkan was, but knowing him, he’d handle things
well.

“Everyone!!!”

As
the temporary party leader, Jubeel shouted loudly.

“Retreat!!!”

The
wind rushed fiercely through the gaps in the eye holes of my helmet.

Clatter,
clatter!

I’d
never ridden a horse before, but I was surprisingly able to maintain
my balance naturally.

Was
it because I was riding on the back of a female?

Wait,
could I even refer to a centaur as female? I mean, it did have a
certain anatomy…

As
these idle thoughts ran through my mind while the scenery rapidly
changed, a grand structure in the distance came into view.

The
fountain built every five floors.

The
fountains on the 5th and 10th floors were bizarrely large structures
for being inside a labyrinth, but this grand fountain was on an
entirely different scale.

A
towering fountain the height of a six-story building.

The
healing water cascading from its summit was like a waterfall.

The
water, falling from such a height and colliding with the calm surface
below, created a light mist that seemed to radiate an otherworldly
aura.

And
yet, my eyes kept drifting to it.

‘You’ll
know it’s different from the other fountains at first glance,’
they had said.

I
finally understood what Deputy Guildmaster Yonel Freya had meant.

For
reasons unknown, the Grand Fountain was distinct from the others.

Clatter!
Clatter!

Whirr–

Moreover,
as we approached the grand fountain, the Blessing of Radiance, now a
part of my strength, began to hum faintly.

That
strange vibration made my heart pound.

Trying
to calm myself, I took a deep breath and observed the surroundings.
Near the fountain, I heard murmuring voices.

“Ah!
The Holy Grand Fountain!”

A
priest of the Earth Mother cult, with a benevolent face, was weeping
bitterly at the sight of the healing water turning milky white.

“Those
scars⋯
Could it be?”

“⋯No
way. It can’t be. Lately, back alleys have been getting cleaned
up one by one. There’s no way they’re still alive–”

“If
it’s true⋯
Tch. How unlucky.”

Some
explorers were glancing warily at someone.

My
gaze naturally followed theirs.

Bubble,
bubble, bubble–

Beneath
the fountain, where the healing water cascaded like a waterfall,

Jubeel
and her party were lying submerged.

The
Fusilini party was nowhere to be seen.

I
lightly slapped the centaur’s rump.

“That’s
enough. Thank you.”

“Puhihihihing!”

Seemingly
pleased, she reared up and performed a trick. I ignored her and
approached the fountain.

I
didn’t enter the fountain. Meeting [it] required more caution.

“Jubeel!”

“Bubble–
Pffft, ughhh.”

As
I approached Jubeel, who had been submerged in the healing water, she
weakly sat up, her face pale.

My
gaze naturally drifted to her chest.

From
the soaked edges of her shirt, far more milk than usual was leaking
out.

“Oh,
Balkan. Is that you? I’m glad you’re safe.”

“What’s
going on? Why are your party members all lying around like that?”

“They’re
resting. Ugh, so much happened. I’m really exhausted.”

Splash!

Muttering
that, Jubeel flopped back into the Grand Fountain.

I
frowned as I watched her.

Among
the smell of milk, a faint metallic scent of blood reached my nose.

“Jubeel.”

“⋯What?”

“Turn
around.”

“No.”

“Jubeel.”

“⋯⋯Tch.”

With
a hardened expression, Jubeel clicked her tongue and turned her back.

I
clenched my fist as I looked at her back.

A
sword scar.

A
deep wound running from her left shoulder to her right hip, with
green magic seeping out as crimson blood dripped down.

“Damn
it. Bleeding again. Is it my period? Does this healing water even
work? Hahaha!”

Jubeel
laughed loudly despite her pale complexion.

“Who
did this?”

I
suppressed my trembling fist and asked in a calm voice.

“Which
bastard turned my party member into this mess?”

“⋯⋯”

Thunk.

Jubeel
gave a faint smile at my enraged face, then collapsed into the
healing water and closed her eyes.

“⋯She
must be
exhausted. I’ll explain.”

It
was Rubia, lying next to Jubeel, who spoke up.

Now
that I looked closely, Rubia’s injuries were even worse than
Jubeel’s.

Her
heavy armor dress was torn in several places, and her great shield
bore the marks of battle. Yet, as a natural-born tank, Rubia had
endured better than the frailer Jubeel.

From
Rubia, I learned the details of what had happened.

After
falling into the lair of the scoundrels they had swindled at the 13th
floor, the party was thrust into a dire combat situation.

While
my party, including Hitolis and Lammel, managed to escape intact, the
depleted Fusilini party was recaptured by those villains.

“And
Belle, too?”

“Yes.
That child didn’t seem to have any intention of fighting from the
beginning.”

—Human,
can’t I eat them…?

—Absolutely
not.

—Ugh…
I understand. Humans are not for eating.

A
promise I had made with Belle suddenly came to mind.

Was
it possible that she had meekly allowed herself to be captured simply
because I told her not to eat humans?

“Their
location?”

“⋯You
mustn’t go alone. Wait until we recover—”

“No.
You won’t recover.”

A
sudden voice interrupted, making Rubia and I turn our heads at the
same time.

A
woman with black hair and an eyepatch, Amel Drexia, sat atop the
centaur’s back, puffing on a cigarette. She pointed at Jubeel and
Rubia.

“That
green magic in your wounds. That’s black magic. Specifically, a
type of extreme poison magic from the black magic school. It’s
designed to slowly kill its target.”

“You
recognize this?”

“Yeah.
Not in-depth, but I know enough.”

Amel
Drexia shrugged and took another puff of her cigarette in response to
my question.

“It’s
a pain to deal with since it torments the victim until they die.
Unless the caster dispels it, their mana depletes, or the caster is
killed, there’s no other way to remove it. Well, unless you’ve
got a high-tier mage or priest capable of breaking through to the
lower floors.”

Such
individuals were, of course, rare. Which meant—

“You
won’t last long after stepping out of that healing water.”

Both
Jubeel and Rubia couldn’t leave the fountain until the extreme
poison magic was undone.

“⋯⋯”

“Rubia.”

I
addressed Rubia again, whose face was set in a grim expression of
regret.

“The
location. Tell me.”

Faced
with my serious tone, Rubia reluctantly described the route they had
escaped from.

A
trail of small blood droplets stretched from the fountain to the path
ahead.

I
bent down and wiped one of the droplets with my hand. The crimson
blood smeared and spread across my fingers.

It
was an unpleasant sensation but the solution was simple.

Trash
that overreaches itself only understands one thing: fists.

“Ploop.
Ploop.”

“Where
are you going?”

As
I began following the blood trail, the centaur and Drexia trailed
behind me. The rat beastman, sensing the gravity of the situation,
had already fled.

“You’re
coming with me?”

“Oh,
so you’ve dropped the formalities now?”

“Sorry,
but I’m not in the mood.”

“⋯Well,
that’s fine. Considering what happened to your party, it’s
understandable. Actually, I prefer
it this way.”

Slap!
Slap!

Amel
Drexia smacked the centaur’s thigh as she spoke.

“Hop
on. I’ll help you.”

“Why?”

“⋯One
of my overly talented colleagues in necromancy is looking for a
rather… uh… specific resource from a man. Just a drop.”

“You
use that kind of thing for necromancy?”

“It’s
for a particularly unique type of necromancy.”

After
brief deliberation, I climbed onto the centaur’s back again.

It
wasn’t a deal I would lose anything on.

“Doo,
doo-doo, dee-dee-da…”

The
slime Ain, Aldente, sadly looked down at Fusilini, who was lying
battered and bleeding from club strikes.

She
had failed to protect them.

These
precious companions who had risked their lives to save her—she
hadn’t been able to protect them.

“Doo…
Daaah…”

“Ugh,
ugh…”

The
rest of the party was no different.

Their
skin bore slave numbers, and they were locked in iron cages,
trembling like merchandise.

“Ah,
this is it. This is what I live for.”

“See?
Fortune favors the diligent.”

“We
thought it was all for nothing, but at least we got some spoils. Hah,
bastards.”

Collie
gazed at the caged prisoners with a satisfied smile.

Then
he looked up at the figure above—someone else who was also looking
down on them with a contented face.

‘As
expected of the clan leader. To easily dispatch a master of
swordsmanship like that…’

[Back
Alley’s Turf] wasn’t a large clan, but it was a mid-tier criminal
clan that had long established itself in Eden.

Though
the wretched head of the Explorer’s Guild had inflicted
near-catastrophic damage on them, this decline would only be
temporary.

The
clan would rise stronger after enduring this large wound.

“Long
live the clan leader! Long live Lord Bio!”

Collie
shouted naturally. Other clan members turned to look at her.

“Long
live the clan leader! Long live Lord Bio!”

They
echoed her cheer.

The
cries grew louder, spreading like wildfire and inspiring the others
to join in.

“Long
live the clan leader! Long live Lord Bio!”

On
the third cheer, applause and shouts erupted.

Collie,
her face contorted with mania, clapped her hands and looked up at the
clan leader once more.

“⋯Huh?”

The
figure of the clan leader.

No,
the world itself.

The
world had turned upside down.

The
inverted, spinning view was filled with light.

The
dazzling light reflected off an unusually massive axe blade.

Splatter!

The
sensation of her neck being severed and her spine snapping, was
followed by a ringing sound in her ears.

Collie’s
severed head hit the ground and was crushed.

The
other clan members of [Back Alley’s Turf] turned their eyes to the
wooden wall, which the centaur had burst through.

More
specifically, at the man perched atop the centaur, resting a massive
axe on his shoulder.

Squelch!

As
the axe-wielding man swung his weapon, Collie’s blood splattered in
every direction.

The
sound that marked the end of Collie’s life wasn’t one of joy and
applause but rather the cold thud of flesh being cleaved and a man’s
chilling voice.

Swallowing
hard, the clan members nervously grabbed their weapons. The man,
surveying them with an icy gaze, muttered in a voice dripping with
fury and killing intent.

“Who’s
proficient in extreme poison magic? Come here.”

Extreme
poison magic. There was only one person in the clan capable of
wielding such magic.

Instinctively,
the members’ eyes turned toward their clan leader.

“Haha.”

Balkan,
too, raised his head to look at her with a cold smile.

“It’s
you, isn’t it?”

The
short sentence was brimming with wrath and murderous intent.